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The Funk Boutique: New Curated Collabs for the Summer Season
Tracee Ellis Ross has got it goin’ on. The award-winning actress, CEO and all-around cultural icon is unapologetically Black, sparks radical joy within the madness, and puts it out there for anyone who wants to enjoy her infectious energy. Though Black-ish and Mixed-ish are coming to an end, there will be no shortage of Tracee…
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Mic Drop: Get on the Floor or Get in Your Bag
Congratulations! You’ve made it through another week and are headed into a weekend that—at least in New York—will be what one calls “in the streets” weather. You know, where you’re out and about and drinking by 11 am. A summertime warm-up, if you will. But what will you listen to, you ask? Well, you’re in…
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PageTurners: You Know What They Say About History…
… It has a way of repeating itself, or that’s how the saying goes. Within that repetition comes new ways in which historians and the general public alike find themselves trying to change the course of history while attempting to record for posterity the profound impact events have had on the country. One of the…
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Mic Drop: It's Friday…You Know, the Freakin' Weekend
Friday. The freakin’ weekend. The day that we all wake up looking forward to the moment our eyes open on Monday morning. As it gets warmer and we shift into a new season, the week’s music releases have been too good to wait until Monday. So I’ll be putting you onto the weekly hits to…
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PageTurners: May I Interest You in Some New Releases?
The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same. Walter Dean Myers first published Monster in 1999; over twenty years later, the profound themes centered around the criminality of Black boyhood and coping with trauma continue to plague young Black men across the country. The story follows Steve Harmon, a 16-year-old boy…
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Mic Drop: Masterful Musicians Makin' Moves
We’ve got a lot going on here, and guess what? I’m here for it. Black women are dominating the first week of May’s charts, floating between different genres and but putting us in our bag and taking us back out. Music is intersectional as all hell, but we knew that already, so it’s time to…
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The Funk Boutique: We're Rooting for Everybody Black
“Zazie has such a power and presence about herself that is so undeniable.” Regardless of the project she’s pursuing, Zazie Beetz approaches it with a raw authenticity that you can feel through the screen. This month, Beetz is featured on the cover of Elle’s May issue and speaks on 2021 and its role as her…
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Mic Drop: Just a Couple of Juxtaposed Jingles
Oxymorons, where would we be without them? They are a true staple in our vernacular—how else would someone know they had no idea what was going on if we didn’t tell them they were “clearly confused.” Or that the whole “yeah, no” means “no” and “no, yeah” means “yeah.” You know what I mean, yeah?…
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It's Mother Earth's Day, Treat Yourself to Some Clean, Green, Black-Owned Beauty
Happy Earth Day, y’all! It is on this sunny (well, sunny in Brooklyn, at least) day that we honor our mother—by going to plant a tree, frolic in a park, that sort of thing. However, if you’re not trying to do those things, there are still ways to support the environment—and a few Black-owned businesses…
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The Funk Boutique: Untouchable Forces in Fashion
There are women who paved the way in fashion, and there are trailblazers—and then, if you’re lucky enough, you’ll encounter fashion’s “Oracle,” Bethann Hardison. A model, advocate, agent and activist, Hardison is a force of nature who has worked tirelessly to change the way the industry engages with race and ensure that Black talent can…